Yokohama Rubber reports it has developed a system that utilises artificial intelligence to predict the physical properties of rubber compounds, and from this breakthrough that it achieved last December has produced a proprietary system that is already being used to design rubber compounds for Yokohama tyres. The manufacturer expects that the system’s ability to conduct a large number of virtual experiments will accelerate compound development, reduce development costs and lead to the development of better-performing products. In addition, the system will simplify the compound-creation process for less-experienced engineers.